Superstar Challenge (35,000,000 KRW)

The Superstar Challenge was one of the marque events that kicked off on the opening day of APT Jeju 2025 in the Landing Casino here at Jeju, South Korea. This event holds the distinction of having the most expensive buy-in of the entire series, pegged at KRW 35 million (~USD 25,000).

A total of 40 entries filled up the seats, building the prize pool to KRW 1,326,000,000 (~USD 937,140). Fourteen 40-minute levels were completed with 16 survivors able to bag up chips for a return to tomorrow's Day 2 final where a champion will be crowned.

There will be some work to do for the remaining runners since only the top 6 places will earn a share of the payout pie. The 6th place earns at least KRW 91,840,000 ( ~USD 65,600), while up at the very top KRW 446,080,000 ( ~USD 318,630) and a KRW 14M (USD 10,000) APT Championship Main Event seat awaits the champion.

Looking in good shape for a championship bid is Thailand's Punnat Punsri, who sits on the chip leader throne with 1,400,000 chips. Running behind at a close second is Germany's Fabian Gumz with 1,105,000. So far, these two are the only ones who bagged past the million mark.

Hong Kong's Biao Ding is almost there with 970,000 chips to round up the the top three.

Punsri made good use of his single re-entry when he busted earlier while risking a call with pocket kings against the trip-nines of Ricky Huang.

Punsri immediately fired his last bullet and regained those chips back from Huang, winning a flip and doubling with ace-queen against the pocket snowmen of Huang to get him started on his rise to the top of the leaderboard.

Some of the notables who made their presence felt, but failed to advance to the next day were the likes of poker superstar Isaac Haxton—who was a recent winner at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju II a week ago—Natural8 Ambassador Nevan Chang and APT Incheon 2025 Superstar Challenge winner Calvin Lee.

Ding, and Australia's Joshua McCully have won this event before and are looking to make a rare repeat. Meanwhile, two-time Superstar Challenge champion Joseph Cheong still has the chips to make an even rarer historic three-peat.

Day 1 of the Superstar challenge has come to an end with 16 players still in the running.

A full write-up of the day 1 action will follow shortly.

Yan Jingyao opened to 32,000 from under the gun and action folded around to Roman Hrabec in the small blind who moved all in for his remaining 190,000 stack. The big blind folded and Jingyao made a swift call, well covering Hrabec.

Yan Jingyao: A♥ T♦

Roman Hrabec: J♠ J♣

Hrabec only improved on the 9♥ 3♣ J♦ 7♠ 3♦ runnout, securing him a bigger stack just a few hands before the end of play today.

Yita Choong risked his last 100,000 plus chips remaining to defend his big blind and was matched by Danny Tang, who originally opened on the button for 32,000.

Yita Choong: A♦ 3♣

Danny Tang: 8♥ 7♥

Board ran Q♥ J♦ 8♠ 7♠ 5♦

Tang flopped a pair and two-paired the turn, leaving Choong drawing dead and up from his seat before the river was opened as a formality.

The tournament director has just announced that the field will be playing the last 6 hands for the night.

Meanwhile, recent exits to the rail include:

Last 20 minutes of the day are on the clock with 20 players left out of the 40 total sign ups.

The prize pool is officially at KRW 1,326,000,000 (~USD 937,140).

Six places will be paid at least KRW 91,840,000 (~USD 65,600) with the champion's loot paying KRW 446,080,000 (~USD 318,630).

A moment of silence for those who won't be returning, such as:

Action folded around to Isaac Haxton who limped from the small blind and Gytis Lazauninkas checked the big blind.

The 7♣ J♣ 8♠ flop saw Haxton bet 16,000. Lazauninkas raised to 50,000 and Haxton re-raised, putting in a stack of green chips into the middle worth 200,000.

Lazauninkas moved in his remaining chips, putting himself at risk of elimination. Haxton snap called, and the players flipped their hands.

Gytis Lazauninkas: J♦ 7♦

Isaac Haxton: A♦ A♠

Lazauninka had flopped two pair, and he stayed ahead of Haxton after improving further on the J♣ turn.

The K♦ river didn't help Haxton, and he was left with around ten big blinds.

There was a pot of around 280,000 in front of big blind Dylan Foster and hi-jack Jingyao Yan.

The board had completed 4♠ 8♦ Q♣ Q♥ 7♥

Foster fired off an almost all-in of 166,000, leaving a solitary 1,000 chip behind as a card protector.

Yan laid out the time bank cards for the dealer to pick freely and went into deep thought, wondering if dolphins were really the smartest creatures on Earth. Eventually, Yan only used two time banks before flicking his cards back to the dealer.

Big blind, Fabian Gumz, and cutoff, Arthur Conan, had a pot of around 400,000 in front of them with a complete board, showing:

6♣ 7♠ 3♥ 3♦ 4♠.

Gumz fired out an almost all-in for 270,000 — leaving 4,000 behind. Conan mucked, surrendering the huge pot to Gumz.

Roman Hrabec opened to 25,000 on the button and Biao Ding three-bet to 185,000 from the small blind. Hrabec called, taking the players heads up to the board.

The 4♦ K♣ T♣ flop prompted Ding to bet 50,000 and Hrabec called behind.

A J♥ saw Ding bet 120,000. Hrabec took some time before folding, passing a large stack of his chips to his neighbour.

After jumping into the field during the dinner break, Kanit Mustapha was in middle position and left with only a few big blinds after loosing a flip against Fabian Gumz sitting in the cutoff.

Kanit Mustapha: T♠ T♣

Fabian Gumz: A♦ Q♠

Players got all their chips in pre-flop and Gumz improved to a pair of queens on the 9♥ 2♦ 9♠ Q♥ 6♣ runout, securing him the double up.

The pot was around 80,000 with a board showing T♥ 9♥ 4♥ 4♠

Actio was on hi-jack Dylan Foster, who bet out 38,000 while Roman Hrabec made the call.

A T♣ came on the river and Foster fired 125,000. Hrabec went into the tank, asked some questions to Foster, but in the end decided to fold, showing A♥ J♥ for the nut flush while handing it back to the muck.

Biao Ding opened to 24,000 from under the gun and button, Xixiang Luo, pumped up the volume with a three-bet to 60,000.

Ding fired back with a four-bet all-in, covering the stack of Luo.

Luo shook his head and mucked his cards.

Isaac Haxton opened to 21,000 from the hi-jack and big blind, Chaoui Mehdi, three-bet to 85,000 on his big blind.

Haxton thought a bit and eventually folded, chiding Mehdi.

Mehdi responded, "I am playing so tight. Really."

Punsri Punnat opened from middle position to 25,000 and saw Gytis Lazauninkas call from the hijack and Joshua McCully call from the cutoff.

Action then went to Mingcong Chen, in the small blind, and he moved his remaining 115,000 stack into the middle.

Punnat made a swift call and both Lazauninkas and McCully folded their hands, leaving the players to go heads up to a showdown.

Mingcong Chen: 3♦ 3♣

Punsri Punnat: A♦ K♥

Chen was ahead and looking to hold to stay alive.

The 2♦ 8♥ Q♦ flop was good for Chen and not much changed on the 6♠ turn.

Punnat stole the pot after picking up a pair of aces on the A♥ river, sending Chen to the rail.

UTG +1, Thanisorn Saelor, and hi-jack, Martin Sedlak, had a pot of 110,000 in front of them, with a flop that showed: Q♥ A♠ 9♥.

Saelor check-raised the 30,000 bet of Sedlak to 80,000. Sedlak completed and both were shown a 2♥ turn.

Both checked to show a T♦ on the river.

Saelor shoved all-in, covering the stack of Sedlak. Sedlak opted to fight another day.

Daniel Tang opened to 20,000 from the cutoff and Yita Choong defended the big blind.

The A♦ 6♣ 7♦ flop saw Choong check-call Tang's 25,000 bet.

A 4♥ turn saw Choong bet out 25,000 and Tang called.

The T♣ fell on the river and Choong checked. Tang bet 115,000 which sent Choong into a three-minute tank, using up all his time bank cards.

Choong made the call and Tang quickly showed: A♥ 9♥, prompting Choong to muck.

Big blind Thanisorn Saelor and cut-off Biao Ding were competing for a 55,000 pot faced with a flop of 9♠ K♣ T♥

Both checked to reveal a 3♥ turn, then checked again to reveal a J♥ river.

Checking was the trend again and Thanisorn Saelor opened 6♠ 5♥ for nothing much while Ding opened A♠ 3♦ for a pair of threes that was enough to improvev his stack.

Big blind Joseph Cheong , lo-jack Martin Sedlak and cut-off Roman Hrabec had a pot of 135,000 in front of them with a board that showed 8♣ 2♦ K♥ 4♣

A triple check opened a 3♥ on the river.

Cheong put in a single 25,000 chip that scared off Sedlak and Hrabec into folding, awarding the sizable pot to Cheong.

Players are back from their final break of the day and Late Registration has closed. A number of players jumped into the field during the break, taking the total entries into the tournament to 40, surpassing last year's total for the same event.

The remaining 17 players are now on a 75-minute dinner break. Play will resume at Level 12 (5,000/10,000) at 8:50 p.m. local time (KST). Late registration will close at the start of the next level.

It was a brawl of the blinds between small blind Punnat Punsri and big blind Isaac Haxton.

There was a flop of: 9♦ J♠ Q♠, and a pot of 48,000 in the middle.

Punsri check-called the 12,000 bet of Haxton and the dealer showed them a Q♥ on the turn.

Punsri checked again, and this time folded, when Haxton threw in a 52,000 bet.

Ricky Huang opened to 21,000 from the cutoff and Punnat Punsri three-bet to 43,000 on the button. Huang was the only caller and the players went heads up to the board.

The flop: 3♣ 6♠ A♦, was checked by Huang, and Punsri bet 30,000. Huang stuck around and called.

A 7♠ was turned and both players checked to the 5♦ river.

Huang bet out 55,000 only to face a 165,000 raise by Punsri. Huang took around a minute before making the call.

Punsri showed: A♠ 5♠, for two pair and took the pot from Huang.

I didn't get to see the complete board but big blind, Fabian Gumz, had two pair holding: J♠ 4♠, against the better two-pair of Joseph Cheong who opened: A♦ Q♦ on the button.

Gumz counted off the chips to pay Cheong, who doubled-up while causing significant damage to the stack of Gumz.

Dealer announced "Seat Open" as Thomas Boivin stood from his seat.

I didn't get to catch the hand or the board since the dealer was too quick at gathering the cards and shipping the chips the way of Roman Hrabec, who had pocket tens in front of him.

Just before he completely left the table, Boivin asked the tournament director up to what level late reg would be closing.

It seemed that he might exercise his single re-entry option.

Big blind, Arthur Conan, cut-off. Paulius Plausinaitis and button, Chaoui Mehdi, were involved in a pot worth around 60,000 and were shown a flop of: 8♥ K♠ 9♦.

Conan and Plausinaitis checked over to Mehdi, who didn't shy from putting 16,000 in the middle.

Conan stood down while Plausinaitis raised it to 40,000. Mehdi called and both were given a 5♦ on the turn.

Plausinaitis continued for 75,000 and Mehdi surrendered.

Action was on Mingcong Chen in the big blind on a T♠ A♥ 5♠ flop with a pot of around 30,000. Chen checked, and Joshua McCully bet 10,000 from under the gun. Chen called, and the players progressed to the turn.

The 3♦ fell and Chen check-called another bet from McCully for 22,000.

Both Chen and McCully checked down the 4♠ river. Chen showed J♠ 9♥ which was good enough to make McCully muck and take the pot.

Natural8 Ambassador had a short stack and finally it went poof and he vacated his seat from the event. Just as that happened, Isaac Haxton has used his single re-entry lifeline for another chance to compete at the APT Superstar Challenge, taking over the seat that Chang vacated.

Mingcong Chen was in middle position and in a pot with Punnat Punsri on the button.

The players were heads up and looking at the: A♥ 5♣ K♠ 9♥ 2♥ board, with a pot of around 160,000.

Chen checked the river and Punsri took some time before moving 200,000 into the middle, putting Chen all-in for his remaining 145,000 stack.

Chen considered, then mucked his hand, passing Punsri the huge pot.

Small blind Roman Hrabec and UTG+1 Thanisorn Saelor were staring at a board of: 7♦ A♦ 6♣ beside a pot of 45,000.

Hrabec checked his option over to Saelor, who put in a bet of 20,000.

Hrabec folded and awarded the pot to Saelor.

Ricky Huang opened to 16,000 from the cut-off and button Punnat Punsri shoved all-in for 257,000.

Action folded back to Huang who made the call.

Ricky Huang: 8♦ 8♥

Punnat Punsri: A♠ Q♣

Board: J♥ T♣ Q♥ 3♦ 2♥

Punsri flopped top-pair and went on for a massive double-up while denting Huang's stack significantly.

In the next hand, Huang opened again for 16,000 from the hi-jack with Punsri calling on the cut-off and Mingcong Chen defending the blind.

The three players were given a flop of 9♠ T♣ A♠ . Action folded around to Punsri, who led out for 20,000.

Chen moved out of the way, but Huang stayed on to see a Q♠ turn.

Huang check-called the 65,000 bet of Punsri and both were thrown a 2♣ on the river.

Both players opted to check.

Huang showed K♦ T♣ for a pair of tens while Punsri tabled two pair with A♦ 9♦ , further doing more damage to Huang.

Arthur Conan opened to 16,000 from the hijack and Roman Hrabec three-bet to 52,000. Conan four-bet for 110,000 and Hrabec five-bet-jammed for 323,000. Conan called, putting himself at risk with only 255,000 behind.

Conan was sitting pretty with pocket kings K♣ K♦ and he found himself up against Hrabec's pocket nines 9♠ 9♦.

Conan was still holding on the: 8♠ 4♠ J♥ flop, but the T♠ river brought in a straight and flush draw for Hrabec.

It was the end of the tournament for Conan as the 5♠ river gave Hrabec a spade flush, eliminating Conan from the tournament.

19 players remain from a total of 28 entries so far. They will take a short 15-minute break.

Some of those who are no longer in the tournament and don't seem like they're firing another bullet include the following:

Action folded to hi-jack Ricky Huang, who opened for 13,000. Button, Nevan Chang, shoved all-in for 81,000.

No customers followed and Chang scored some blinds to help improve his stack further from the red line.

Gytis Lazauninkas opened to 12,000 from early position and faced a 32,000 three-bet from Joshua McCully on the button. Lazauninkas called, taking the players to the flop.

The A♦ 7♣ 6♣ fell and prompted Lazauninkas to check-call after McCully bet 18,000.

Both opted to check the 3♣ turn, taking them to the Q♣ river.

Lazauninkas bet out 10,000, but McCully stuck around.

Lazauninkas had two pair with A♠ Q♠ but McCully took the pot after picking up the club flush draw on the river with A♥ 9♣.

There was around 155,000 chips scattered in the middle of the table with a completed board of: 9♠ 2♥ 2♠ A♣ 7♥ showing.

Big blind, Gytis Lazauninkas, tapped over to Mingcong Chen, who put 75,000 across the betting line.

Lazauninkas responded with an all-in check-raise to 155,000. Chen gave Lazauninkas that "look" and flicked his cards over to the dealer in surrender.

Chen's stack took another blow while Lazauninkas moved up.

Chaoui Mehdi was in the small blind and heads up against Isaac Haxton who was sat to his direct left.

The board read A♣ J♠ 4♣ K♥ and Mehdi bet 24,000. Haxton paused before calling.

A 2♠ completed the board and Mehdi bet out 75,000, which got another call from Haxton.

Mehdi quickly turned over his cards, showing his two pair with K♣ J♣, which he had made on the turn. Haxton was left to muck his hand and had just under ten big blinds left to play with.

I blinked and blinked again. Oh yes, they're back.

After busting out earlier, Nang Quang Nguyen and Punnat Punsri are back on the tables, making use of their single re-entry and hoping their final bullet will do better this time around.

The pot had over 100,000 and the board beside it displayed: T♠ 5♠ J♠ 5♦ 9♣.

The two big stacks on the table, belonging to Mingcong Chen and Ricky Huang, were in competition.

Chen was on the big blind and led for 55,000.

Huang responded with a raise to 180,000.

Chen made the fold while Huang scooped more chips his way.

Yita Choong opened from middle position to 10,000 and Martin Sedlak three-bet to 30,000 from the cutoff. Choong made the call.

The 2♣ 2♦ J♠ flop saw Choong check and Sedlak bet big for 80,000. It took Choong some time, and he threw in a time bank before calling.

A 6♦ was turned and Choong snap-checked. Sedlak moved a 175,000 stack into the middle which saw Choong muck his hand.

Sedlak showed his strength flipping over his pocket kings: K♦ K♥, before pulling in the pot.

Punnat Punsri opened for 10,000 from under the gun with small blind, Joshua McCully, and big blind, Ricky Huang, went along for the ride.

The dealer fanned a flop of: 3♦ 7♠ 9♠.

Both blinds checked over to Punsri, who chucked in a 25,000 bet.

McCully stood down while Huang raised it up to 60,000. Punsri made the call.

The two remaining were shown a: 9♦ on the turn.

Huang led out for 80,000 and Punsri once again made the call.

The river showed a Q♥ and Huang moved all-in, covering Punsri's stack.

Punsri tanked, check his cards, stared down Huang, and pushed a stack forward to call.

Huang showed A♥ 9♣ for trip-nines while Punsri shrugged as he opened his losing K♦ K♥

A♠ he stood up to vacate his seat, Punsri - ever the gentleman - wished everyone at the table good luck.

Huang has probably jumped to the chip lead, inching closer to the million mark.

The pot had built up to over 120,000 beside a complete board that showed 5♠ 3♣ K♦ 5♥ T♦

Big blind Hwan Lee Chang moved all-in for over 200,000 of his last chips. Mingcong Chen snap-called, covering Chang's stack.

Hwan Lee Chang tabled 3♦ 3♥ for a formidable set of threes, but Chen peeled open K♥ K♣ for a juicier set of kowboys.

Manuel Fritz was all in and at risk of elimination for his remaining 50,000 stack with A♠ J♣.

Fritz was looking strong as he found himself against Saelor Thanisorn's J♠ 9♠.

The 8♣ 6♥ 6♠ K♣ 3♠ runout was good for Fritz, and secured himself a double up with little sweat.

Just a few hands later, it was the end of the road for Fritz, as he was seen walking away from the tournament area.

Arthur Conan was in the big blind and up against Saelor Thanisorn in the cutoff.

Players were heads up and looking at the 2♠ K♥ 2♣ 5♣ 7♥ board, and the pot stood at ~70,000.

Conan had checked the river and action was on Thanisorn who bet 75,000.

Conan used two time banks before folding his hand, having lost around a third of his stack, leaving him with only 129,000 to play with.

Hi-jack ,Manuel Fritz, and button ,Poseidon Ho, had a pot of 28,000 in front of them with a flop that showed: 7♥ 5♣ 9♥

Fritz tapped over to Ho, who chucked in a bet of 15,000. Fritz didn't even hesitate and made the quick fold.

I didn't get to catch the hand, but the dealer announced "Seat Open!" and Martin Finger was leaving his seat and wishing the rest of the players on the table good luck.

Finger already has an APT title under his belt, winning the Single Day High Roller 8-Max during APT Hanoi 2023.

Finger has over USD 8 million in total live earnings.

A pot of 22,000 sat beside a flop of: 4♥ 3♠ 2♥.

Both Nevan Chang and Ricky Huang tapped the table to open a 6♠ on the turn.

Chang knocked again and Huang fired out 6,000. Chang shook his head and mucked his hand.

A few hands later, both Nevan Chang and Ricky Huang were all-in on a board that showed:

J♦ Q♦ 9♦ 2♠ K♠

Nevan Chang: A♠ T♣

Ricky Huang : A♥ T♥

Just when Chang thought he'd double with the nut straight, he had to chop with Huang.

Chang just shook his head again.

Punnat Punsri opened for 8,000 from UTG+1 and big blind, Joshua McCully, defended his position.

The flop came: K♦ 2♥ K♠.

McCully checked over to Punsri, who pushed in a 5,000 chip beyond the betting line.

McCully quickly gave in.

Nang Nguyen was all in and at risk for his remaining ~110,000 from the small blind, and up against Martin Sedlak in the big blind.

Nguyen flipped over his pocket nines: 9♦ 9♥ and found himself behind against Sedlak's: K♥ K♦.

The: T♦ 6♦ 4♦ flop didn't give Nguyen anything to work with and no further improvement came from the Q♣ turn or 5♣ river.

Nguyen walked away from the tournament area — leaving Sedlak with a healthy 330,000 stack after the hand.

Martin Sedlak and Calvin Lee were heads-up and in the blinds, looking at a: 8♣ 3♥ 9♠ board. The pot stood at around 32,000.

Sedlak checked from the small blind and Lee bet 10,000. Sedlak stuck around and made the call.

Both checked the Q♣ turn to see the 6♦ river.

Sedlak bet 30,000 and got paid by Lee after he called and saw Sedlak turn over his pocket aces.

The remaining 19 players take a short 15-minute break. Play will resume at 15:46 p.m. local time (KST).

Tournament Director Jimmy just instructed the dealers to deal the last hand before the 15-minute break.

On that final hand, Isaac Haxton agreed to match the all-in of Fabian Gumz for 164,000.

Isaac Haxton: J♠ J♣

Fabian Gumz: A♠ A♦

The dealer opened a flop of: 8♥ Q♥ 9♠ adding a few more outs for Haxton to which Gumz commented, "Nice flop for you."

The board, however, completed: K♠ 4♣, which didn't improve Haxton and Gumz was awarded a timely double-up, while crippling Haxton.

Ricky Huang opened for the minimum and Nevan Chang three-bet to 25,000.

Huang answered back by four-betting to 60,000. Chang fired back by five-betting it to 90,000.

Huang wasted no time and pushed a huge stack forward declaring "All in" with the dealer promptly putting the triangle in front of him.

Chang didn't even ask for a count and surrendered immediately.

The pot had 16,000 in the middle beside a flop that showed T♠ Q♥ 4♥

Big blind Yita Choong check-called the 4,500 bet of Fabian Gumz on the cut-off.

A 9♦ showed on the turn which both players checked to peel a A♠ on the river.

Check-check again.

Choong showed 7♠ 4♣ for a pair of fours while Gumz turned over K♣ 9♥ for a pair of nines taht took the pot.

Calvin Lee and Isaac Haxton were looking at a pot of 25,000 beside a board that showed: 6♥ 4♠ 7♣ 5♥.

Action was on Lee, who led for 13,000 from the small blind. Haxton took a peek at his cards, looked back at the board, then gave his hand back to the dealer.

Gytis Lazauninkas, Hwan Lee Chang and Nevan Chang had around 25,000 in the pot with a flop of: 9♠ 5♦ 2♥.

Big blind Chang checked over his option to Lazauninkas, who pushed 8,000 beyond the betting Line.

Hwan Lee Chang folded while the other Chang called to open a J♦ on the turn.

Chang once again tapped his option over to Lazauninkas, who opted for a bigger bet of 40,000. Chang surrendered.

Action was followed after the clock was called on Manuel Fritz, who sat in the cutoff.

Players were already in the middle of a three-way hand and looking at a: T♣ A♣ K♠ 4♠ board, with a ~24,000 pot.

Fritz was facing Thomas Boivin, sitting under the gun, and Poseidon Ho in the small blind.

Ho checked the turn and Boivin bet 22,000. Fritz called and Ho folded, taking the players heads up to the river.

The 9♥ saw Boivin move a stack of 150,000 into the middle, forcing Fritz all in, as he had only 138,000 behind.

Fritz used three time cards before mucking his hand, passing a big pot to Boivin.

Nevan Chang opened from under the gun to 5,500 and Nang Nguyen called from early positon. Isaac Haxton took some time before raising to 38,000. Chang folded, but Nguyen assessed Haxton's remaining stack - then made the call.

The: Q♥ 4♠ K♠ flop saw both players check to see a 3♣ turn.

Haxton bet out 40,000 and Nguyen called.

Action slowed on the A♠ river and both checked to showdown. Haxton turned over: A♣ K♦ having made two pair, which was good enough to see Nguyen throw his cards into the muck.

Haxton sat back with just under his starting stack, slowly rebuilding his chips.

Joseph Cheong and Gytis Lazauninkas were staring at a complete board of: J♠ 3♠ 9♣ 2♥ 3♦ beside a pot of around 60,000 and some.

Cheong checked his option over to Lazauninkas, who didn't shy away from betting 55,000.

Cheong tanked, threw in a time bank token, wondered about his options for a banging Korean barbecue, then counted off the chips to call.

Lazauninkas showed: K♣ Q♠ for mostly nothing while Cheong peeled open: K♦ J♣ for the winning pair of jacks.

A pot of 45,000 was in the middle with a complete board of: 4♥ 6♣ 4♣ 8♦ K♦.

Both Manuel Fritz and Gytis Lazauninkas checked the river for a show-your-cards moment.

Fritz opened: A♥ T♣ but wasn't good enough against the: A♣ Q♣ of Lazauninkas, whose Queen kicker was the difference to scoop the pot.

A pot of 19,000 had been built between Chaoui Mehdi from early position, and Nang Quang Nguyen on the button.

Both checked the flop of: 5♥ Q♥ 8♦ to open a 4♦ turn.

Once again, it went check-check to show a T♣ on the river.

Mehdi checked and Nguyen tapped behind.

Mehdi declared, "I win!" and showed: J♦ J♣.

Nguyen knocked "nice hand" and returned his cards face down to the dealer.

Action was between small blind Nang Quang Nguyen, and big blind Martin Sedlak, who had a pot of 16,000 in front of them with a flop that showed: 4♣ 2♣ A♥.

Nguyen led out for 4,000 and Sedlak called to show a 4♠ on the turn.

Nguyen double-barreled for 20,000 and Sedlak waved the white flag.

Martin Finger was all-in for this last 27,500 on a flop that showed: 7♠ 3♥ 6♥ with Joseph Cheong making the call.

Finger showed: A♥ T♥ for a nut flush draw against the: A♣ 7♣ of Cheong, who made top-pair.

Dealer opened a 2♥ on the turn to give Finger the nut flush, making the 6♠ a mere formality on the river.

Action folded around to Fabian Gumz, who opened to 4,500 from the cutoff. Gumz saw two calls, from Chaoui Mehdi on the button and Ricky Huang in the big blind.

The: 8♣ J♠ 2♥ flop was checked by Huang and Gumz. Mehdi bet 4,000 and only Huang stuck around.

Both players checked the A♥ turn, taking them to the K♦ river.

Huang bet out 32,000, prompting Mehdi to flick his hand into the muck.

In the middle of the next hand, Mehdi questioned Huang asking "If I bet 150% of the pot you fold?...On the turn?....Did you make two pair?."

Huang didn't offer a response but continued to build his growing chip stack.

Players take a short 15-minute break. The remaining 14 players will return to Level 4 (1,000/2,000) at 13:30 p.m. local time (KST).

Small blind Martin Sedlak, and UTG Fabian Gumz, had 48,000 worth of chips scattered beside a full board that showed: J♥ 2♣ 2♠ 7♠ 3♥.

Sedlak and Gumz decided on a check-check agreement on the river.

Sedlak opened: T♣ T♦ and it was good enough for Gumz to send back his cards to the muck.

Manuel Fritz opened the action by raising to 11,500 from under the gun. Action folded around to Joshua McCully in the big blind, who raised to 31,000. Fritz made the call and the players were taken to the: 7♠ 5♦ J♥ flop.

McCully bet out 33,000 and Fritz took some time before making the call.

The 8♠ turn saw McCully move his remaining ~130,000 stack into the middle and Fritz made another call, comfortably covering McCully.

McCully showed: A♠ A♥ and Fritz flipped over his pocket Kings: K♠ K♦.

Fritz remained behind after the 6♠ fell on the river, and McCully took the pot.

McCully remarked, "That's Brutal."

Fritz responded with "I didn't hit the side bet and lost a big pot." He continued with, "I didn't even care about the Kings, just the club river."

APT Incheon 2025 Superstar Challenge champion, Calvin Lee, and recent Triton Poker Super High Roller Series winner, Isaac Haxton, had a pot of 65,000 in front of them.

Beside that was a complete board of: J♦ 7♣ 9♥ 7♥ 6♦.

UTG+1 Lee tapped his option over to button Haxton, who also checked.

Lee showed: A♣ J♠ which was enough to take down the pot as Haxton folded.

There was a small pot of around 15,000 in the middle with a flop that showed: 9♠ A♣ 3♠.

UTG Thomas Bolvin fired out 7,000 and Manuel Fritz surrendered.

Bolvin then peeled open: A♠ T♠ showing two spades which won him double from the side prop bet, forcing McCully and Fritz to throw some bills Bolvin's way.

Chaoui Mehdi of Morocco just jumped in the tournament, giving friends high fives and hugs before finally taking his seat.

Mehdi made a scan of chips from the other players and noticed the huge chip stack of Nevan Chang.

Mehdi said, "Nevan, why do you have so many chips? Did you flop a set and crack aces?"

The table answered, "That's exactly what happened!"

Chang added, "That's where he was sitting."

Mehdi retorted, "I won't call 250,000 with aces." with reference to the starting stack.

UTG+1 Thomas Bolvin, and button Manuel Fritz, were both competing for a 38,000 pot with a full board that showed: 5♠ 8♥ 9♦ 4♠ 5♥.

Bolvin led for 27,500 and Fritz mucked. Bolvin showed the 8♦.

Joshua McCully - on the same table - was chatting with Martin Finger and mentioned "You didn't call the river, it paired."

So apparently, there are a bunch of prop bets going on and some players - Bolvin, Fritz, McCully and Finger - have bunch of KRW 50,000 bills and are making side bets on flushes and other things.

"I wasn't paying attention," Finger answered back and missed his chance to cash.

Ricky Huang was in the small blind and already heads-up against N8 ambassador, Nevan Chang, in the big blind.

The players were looking at the: 6♥ Q♥ 9♦ 5♠ board, with a pot of around 8,000.

Huang check-called the turn, after Chang bet 26,000.

The river came the 5♥ and Huang opted to check. Chang bet 65,000, which saw Huang use three 30-second time cards, before making the call.

Huang scooped the pot after showing: Q♠ 7♠ for two pair, after Chang flashed his: Kx Jx bluff.

Gytis Lazauninkas opened to 2,500 from middle position and action folded to Martin Finger on the button. Finger three-bet to 10,000 and Lazauninkas called.

The: A♣ J♥ 2♣ flop was check-called by Lazauninkas after Finger bet 5,500.

A Q♥ saw Lazauninkas check. Finger bet 20,000 which sent Lazauninkas into the tank. After around a minute, Lazauninkas raised to 60,000 and Finger moved his remaining ~230,000 stack into the middle. Lazauninkas snap-called, putting himself at risk for his remaining 185,000 and both players flipped their hands.

Lazauninkas was sitting with: K♥ T♥, looking strong against Finger's: Q♦ Q♠.

The 5♣ river secured Lazauninkas the double, leaving Finger short early in the day.

There was a huge 75,000 bundle of chips in the middle sitting next to a board that showed: 3♣ Q♠ 8♦ J♣

Big blind Michael Wang fired off 55,000 and Nevan Chang made the call from the hi-jack to open the 6♣ on the river.

Wang fired 155,000 and Chang called off his remaining 158,500 - Wang didn't hesitate to match all-in.

Wang opened: A♦ A♣, while Chang showed: Q♣ Q♦ for a set of ladies, leaving Wang with a paltry 5,000.

In the next hand, Wang put his last 5,000 in the middle from the small blind with Martin Sedlak and Calvin Lee going along.

Both players checked until the board completed: 5♥ 9♣ 8♥ J♦ J♣.

On the river, Sedlak checked and Lee put out 5,000. Sedlak mucked. Wang turned over: A♠ 8♦ for a pair of eights, but it wasn't enough against the: K♥ J♠ of Lee who made trips, completing the elimination of Wang.

Isaac Haxton opened to 2,000 from UTG +2 and cut-off, Nevan Chang, three-bet to 7,000. Haxton matched and both players were shown a flop of: 2♥ T♥ 3♠.

Haxton checked and allowed Chang to fire off 12,000 before he raised it up to 27,000.

Chang surrendered to the check-raise.